City
by Saphira Veera
Summary: AU. Tsurara, who just recently moved to the city, bumped into a white-haired stranger on her way home in the train. A story about a lost girl, and a boy who happened to be there, in the wrong place and at the wrong time.


it's been so long, everyone. i'll just leave the A/N as a footnote.

**Disclaimer:** Obviously, fan fiction is _fiction _made by _fans._

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_For me, the city have always looked like a maze – a maze that you can get lost in forever, drowning in the lights and the noise and the stories people try so hard to hide._

_Why is it that some are open and some are not? It just puzzles me so._

_That's why I don't like the city. If the train holds this many people in a single day on a single passenger car, how many are there really out there?_ I shuddered.

The doors open and I made way my to a comfortable standing spot, keeping my head down.

_But people are so unpredictable, and so very vulnerable to the term _feelings_._

I gripped the metal pole that connected the ceiling and the metal sheet we stood on as people trickled in, in various forms of shape, size and colour. I watched them, a blur of colours and auras, my eyes darting from side to side, never lingering on a pair of eyes for too long.

A lavishly dressed woman in her mid-thirties stood a feet away from me, doused in a strong smelling perfume and her face painted like that of a doll's. She righted her blouse, reavealing a generous view of her cleavage, and something fell out from her similarly lavish branded bag. Cursing softly, she bent down to retrieve it, her mini skirt hitching upwards.

Blinking, I dropped my groceries and stooped to pick it up. It was a lighter, but half of it got burned so badly the plastic melted.

"Thanks," drawled the woman, her face so startlingly close I can see the clumps of mascara sticking to her long fake lashes, undoubtedly making eye contact.

Well, it wouldn't be surprising if she smoked. I regarded her as I returned the lighter.

Brushing gazes, a fleeting feeling of sheer emptiness washed over me, and I almost wanted to question my existence. The feeling passed and I took a deep breath. Depression was not uncommon these days. I checked the date. 25th of October. Cold, wet and near penniless for those unlucky ones.

I tried not to wonder what she does with the lighter if she didn't smoke.

Well, people judge. It is the nature of humans.

They utter promises to one another, a term used to chain hope and desire, but it is rarely ever kept. They say consoling words, saying that they understand, when in truth, they don't.

They never will, because they are themselves. They are not anybody else.

Even so, they try hard, forcing themselves to help the ones in need, and I respect that.

But it was not the case with me.

I picked up my grocery bags, and stood in my corner, my eyes casted on the floor.

In my seventeen years of life, I had witnessed and felt thousands of emotions, and lived so many lives in a single second.

I felt like I had lived for centuries. Sometimes I wondered if what I had was a curse; to be able to understand so many things at once with a single eye contact. My hands brushed against my eyelids and I opened them to stare at my own reflection against the dark window and opted to watch the remaining passengers through the black window and I sighed.

The train wore on, passing a couple more stations and leaving only a handful behind. I wondered if there was one who will drop out in my station.

I live the furthest spot away from the city - in the other words - the last station.

"May I stand here?"

I looked up and felt my cheeks burning as I swept gazes with a middle aged man wearing a business suit, in his hand a mobile phone, the unmistakable feeling of desire spreading through me, even for a second and I looked away, trembling.

It wasn't the first time experiencing such a strong feeling, but undoubtedly flustered, I contented myself to look on nothing but the floor, mumbling an affirmative.

"Thanks. You alone? Where do you live?" The man asked, a whiff of alcohol on his breath as he inched closer to me. Uncomfortable, I gripped my groceries bag tighter and swung it to my right side so it stood between me and this stranger. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. This isn't my first time either.

"Hey, why don't you sit? Your station's after this? I drop off there too. Tell you what, why don't you come with me and –"

"My father's a carpenter," I said, cutting him off unexpectedly.

"Huh?"

"He asked me to buy a lot of nails. Would you like to see them?"

"What?"

"The hammers in *ce Hardware are also for sale this month. But then again, who would want to use a hammer in the middle of October? My father said he'd once hit on his finger because it was so cold. Do you know what happened then?"

By then, the man had already lost his interest in me and begun to wonder away. "N-No?"

I smirked under the privacy of my scarf. "It fell off. Hmm, what a pity. Now, what is it that you wanted to ask me to?" I turned to him and found the man already trudging his way to another passenger car, muttering under his breath. I smiled.

"Hmm, your taste is the older ones, eh?" A voice suddenly appeared beside me, startling me.

The proximity, I realized dumbly, is enough for me to nearly faint in the nearly empty passenger car, but a pair of hands grabbed me and righted me and I hugged the metal pole for balance, my eyes shut and my face red and hot.

"You alright there?" The voice said again, and this time, I can feel warm breath on my skin.

I squealed loudly and back away, my eyes still shut and my hands groping blindly. I hit the railing, hard, and fell headfirst onto the floor.

"Hey, this boy touched her!"

"What? No, I didn't!"

"Here, you perverted young man. I saw you staring at her for the longest time, you were planning something! "

"Hey old woman, I didn't do anything!"

"What a very disrespectful pervert!"

"I didn't do anything. She fell on her own!"

"Somebody go and help that poor girl! Her face is so red - I think she can't breathe!"

In the midst of the commotion, I looked up and our eyes made contact for the briefest of seconds.

That's weird. He - I - that's really weird.

As if in a trance, I stood up and walked over to him slowly, my hands reaching out and - and -

...

I woke up in the darkness.

Ugh. I feel like my head's been hammered in. My hands reached out and found cold marble.

My eyes widened and I sat up, and found myself by the railways, on a cold marble bench.

"Heh, so you're finally awake, huh?"

I nearly cricked my neck as I turned and swiveled for the source of the voice, my heart thumping. I grasped for the edge of the bench and grappled in the dark, trying to find my belongings.

"Your stuff is over here."

I turn again and found him, a tall figure, silhouetted by the remaining lights of the station. He stepped away from the shadows and thrust out a hand that was holding my belongings. Shaken, I grab them and jerked my head briefly, trying my hardest not to meet his eyes.

"Th-thanks," I managed to utter before turning silently and begin to walk away.

"You have red eyes."

I stopped. Like a puppet maneuvered, I turned my head as my eyes swiftly brushed from top until bottom

His hair was stark white in colour, long and bizarrely jutting out away from his head, as if they had their own gravity. His face was shaped rather handsomely, his chin and cheeks high and well-formed. And his eyes...a deep, rich hazel colour, almost as if he can reach out and reveal my secrets in one furtive glance. I gaped, almost admiring this exotic beauty.

"Hm. But it looks good on you. It's not every day I get to see a girl with blue hair and red eyes," he commented in a deep voice. And was that a smirk I saw flitting in and out in his smile?

I snapped out of my trance and averted my eyes, horrified at myself.

"Thanks. For back there. But you didn't have to go that far, you know," he said.

I whipped my head and looked at him incredulously.

"W-What do you mean?" I ask, my voice soft compared to his rough tones and pronunciations.

He looked at me funnily, as if I had suddenly grown five eyes. I unconsciously turned away, my cheeks growing warm.

"I _mean, _I didn't know you were the type to show affections that easily in public." He replied, his hazel-brown eyes widening.

What is he talking about? I stepped back and shook my head at the same time. The cold late winds of October blow hard, my long blue-ish hair whipping across my face. The siren for the last train chimed. I snuggled deeper into my scarf.

He stepped closer and held up a hand. I then grow alarmed, and step back a little bit further.

"Do you do that everyday?" he inquired.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," I whispered, all courage suddenly gone. I looked around for help, but my station is nearly always empty, especially at night. The thundering of the train sounded closer now.

He placed his finger on his lips and ran them over softly. I tried not to ogle, much to my embarrassment.

"You-you. You kissed me," he said, his voice suddenly soft and lulling, his eyes drooping low.

_Huh?!_

Out of shock and embarrassment that I did that - did that! - in public - to a stranger, no less! - threw me off balance, and I backed away from him - and - I was...falling?

"O-oi!"

I can see the starry sky - and it looked smaller as I fall away - and stopped. A pair of hands grabbed me and pulled me away from the tracks.

The train rushed past us as I suddenly became conscious of the warmth against me and I stumbled away.

Something lodged in my heart as I turned to look at the stranger. His eyes met mine and everything seemed to slow down. The shinkansen suddenly was unworthy by name; moving with a snail's pace. The din sounded so far away. The city lights blinking in the background grew dimmer as I held his gaze.

"Are you okay? Are you drunk?" He asked above the din. That broke the spell. My eyes widened as the train screeched to a stop and the doors open automatically, casting shadows on us.

I jerked back, nearly falling again, but managed to regain my balance as I backtracked slowly from him, bangs covering my eyes.

"Hey -"

I shook my head furiously and walked away before he could say anything else, unaware of my reddened cheeks. As I left the platform, something occurred to me.

I couldn't read his eyes.

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aaah. i've missed you all. this is a pretty lame comeback, i'm aware, but right now, i have good news to share; i'm a soon-to-be uni student! just recently passed the national exams, so i've got plenty of time on my hands before i actually start going to uni, lol.

this story came out of the blue when i was listening to _Sara Bareilles' _- _City _and it felt too good to be an afterthought, so i thought why not? let me know if this is worth continuing. i realize i work best when my reviewers encourage me (oopsyeahisaidthatnoregrets)

OKAY! i admit it. i'm obsessed with trains. and city. happy now? /cries/

so, my lovelies? love? like? dislike? hate?! (no hate please )

do click that review button down there and drop me a fave if you enjoyed this chapter!


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